Teen Titans vs the Crimson Jackal
by The Magician Joseph
Summary: The Titans face off against the psycho killer the Crimson Jackal. The shocking encounters with the super powered madman lead Robin to do some soul searching on his troubled past. Batman crossover,Rob&Star,Rae&Cy, OC is not self insert.High action!
1. sunrise

_Hey readers, I'm kind of confused to how Teen Titans the Animated Series handles Robin's past, I'm not sure if Bruce and Dick have the same animosity that they do in the comics or if they are on better terms. I'll flub my way through it for now._

A wave of sensation goes up his scalp, and gently across the back of Robin's head stimulating nerve activity and just in general feeling pretty damn good. Robin's muscles relax slightly. Starfire runs her hands through the back of Robin's hair pulls him up for the deeper states of REM sleep causing him to rise from the subconscious into near waking state. Robin fights a battle with himself, desperately trying to fight the comfort of more sleep in favor of a waking state where Starfire is waiting for him. His heavy head nods off one last time and then, he wakes up with a start, he had fallen asleep at his desk last night while trying to find leads on the murders in downtown Jump City.

Robin props himself up on his elbows, and looks up at Starfire who has ceased playing with his hair, Starfire is a beautiful girl, tall, statuesque, and in good shape. Starfire is no regular girl though, born on the planet of Tameran she possesses powers that no human could ever hope to possess even with a life time of training. Starfire is a creature of unbelievable strength; even with her body as slim and lithe as it is, Robin had seen her lift cars, and even heavier objects with no apparent effort. Starfire can also fly, an ability apparently made possible by focusing on the positive aspects of her life; a life which she saw as rich and fulfilling. And when she focuses on righteous anger, or draws strength from her indomitable will she can fire green energy from her hands and eyes; green energy that sizzles and crackles in the air and brings down those who would endanger her or her friends; Robin had coined a term for the energy she fired from her hands calling them starbolts.

"What's up Starfire?" Robin asks, stretching in his metal chair, his well muscled arms reach to the ceiling, his back pops like a machine gun. He rubs his mask covered eyes with his green gloved hands.

"Well actually it is kind of silly now that I think of it," Starfire says, she pauses slightly abashed feeling that her planned actions are a bit brazen, "I just want to talk to you. Would you mind going up to the roof? What you call sunrise should be happening soon, and I feel that the nice setting will raise our spirits."

"No problem Star." Robin replies, he stands up, his hair is a little greasy and unwashed, his clothes feel sweaty, and stick oppressively to his body. Together Robin and Starfire walk to the roof in silence, matching each other's foot steps. Robin's stride is made in steel toed boots, with unwashed white socks under them, Starfire sets her pace with purple knee high boots, and the socks under them are clean and pink. Robin is physically uncomfortable; he does not feel clean and feels sore from sleeping on his desk. Starfire is mentally uncomfortable she fears that Robin will fall into his work and become introverted, to the point of obsession. On her home planet of Tameran this type of introversion is frowned upon, deemed as being in the unpleasant state of _Gushen'wa'wa_.

As the duo continues on their way to the roof, Robin looks down the hall yet also looks into himself. His mind his tortured by thoughts of the past, Robin is young but noble, a boy thrust into manhood early in his life. Robin, also known as Dick Grayson is the model hero; he achieves everything he has through his own hard work and determination. Dick Grayson has taken his tragedies and made them his energies, constantly destroying his mind and body, pounding his Psyche against the wall of the seemingly unbeatable, and recovering stronger than ever, doing the impossible and transcending himself.

As the punk rock legend Henry Rollins had said in his poem "Hot Animal Machine", "Every time I smash myself into a million pieces, grow scar tissue, become stronger, doomed to endure and prevail." So Robin is doomed to endure and prevail, until it kills him, putting the hero's effort of a selfless martyr into everything he does.

The amazing, yet fatigued hero that is Robin continues onto the roof, the crisp morning air rejuvenates him slightly. The air cleans out his lungs, refreshes him, and cools some sweat from his brow. He smiles, and surveys the view of the bay, and nearby Jump City, a morning mist hangs in the air like curtains to a stage. Starfire sees his smile and pulls him into a bone shattering Tameranian hug, and then they walk to the ledge of Titan's Tower.

They sit on the edge of the monolithic T of Titans Tower watching the sun slowly explode onto the horizon sending rays of gold, and red fire through the curtains of mist.

The Titan Tower is the headquarters of the Teen Titans, a giant tower shaped like a T which the Teen Titans live in. The rich owner of Wayne Industry; Bruce Wayne funded this high powered head quarters, an amazing structure of steel frames, glass, and cutting edge technology.

Bruce Wayne was Robin's adopted father figure and mentor, after Robin's mother and father had been murdered. Bruce Wayne's parents had also been murdered, and Bruce Wayne was in many ways like Robin. Having also honed himself to a near superhuman being through intense mental, and physical training Bruce Wayne donned the identity of the legendary vigilante Batman at night and prowled the fetid Gotham City striking fear into the hearts of the wicked, and hunting those who hunt. Robin smiles inside when he thinks about Bruce, if it weren't for Bruce he could have easily fallen to the traps of his own inner rage. A rage that could have ruined him could have turned him into an undisciplined young man desperately seeking closure for his parent's deaths.

The sun continues to rise into the sky with unparalleled majesty, Starfire sighs quietly, she hopes that Robin doesn't hear it. She tries to speak, but her words catch in her throat like a lump. She tries to swallow the lump of jumbled sentences down, but cannot manage it. A single tear rolls down her cheek having sprung from her stunning green eye that was busy reflecting the sunrise.

"Robin I fear for your health." She says, pushing the words out as fast as she can.

Robin looks at her, his expression is surprised, and perhaps even a bit amused. He kicks his heels against the side of the building, lightly, savoring the feeling of his legs bouncing back at him.

"What brings you to say that?" He inquires, but he already knows the answer. The answer is because of his new driving passion, the next small retribution he can get, the next small resolution, the next life he can save. Searching every day, searching and striving trying to find out how to prevent the next brutal death, examining crime scenes, reading media reports, all related to the string of horrific sadism in Jump City. He sees nothing wrong with his unhealthy work ethic, nothing wrong with how he spends day and night pursuing, looking, and looking for leads. Leads on the case of the Crimson Jackal murders


	2. new dawn begins

_Thanks to Whitexgodess for the kind review, it is much appreciated._

Chapter 2

Robin looks at the sunrise, but soon he is not there he is remembering:

_The pain in his chest spreads like fire through his muscles, his stifles a cough the act of breathing is painful. He staggers looking at the man that gave him the blow, the man is cloaked in darkness, yet the overhead track lighting creates a silhouette of the man. The silhouette looks like that of a man and a bat fused together, a cape that spreads behind him like the wings of a dark angel, a cowl that rises into two points like the horns of a devil. The man that had given him such pain was his own adopted father, the strike had not been out of spite, or anger, nor was it intended to be damaging. No the pain and burning in Robin's chest was simply a result of letting his guard down, such things happened while sparring; the act of mock combat._

_Robin, and his adopted father Batman were in the Batcave, a well hidden secret under Wayne Manor. The Batcave is a dank and dreary place, a fantastic underground structure of natural and manmade pathways that house all the crime fighting and aesthetic needs of the eccentric Bruce Wayne. Each tunnel, each cavern filled with beeping computers, evidence from past crimes, costumes and weapons of defeated enemies. The Batcave is where Bruce Wayne really lives, neglecting the comfort and luxury of the manor above him, he spends most of his days tracking criminals, training Robin in both combat and investigative knowledge, he is truly in his element in the Batcave a place that outwardly reflects his inner self._

_Batman looks at Robin, his perpetual scowl doesn't change, "Are you injured?" He asks, his voice is smooth yet masculine, his dialect slightly shows his upper crust upbringing. _

"_No, I'm fine." The pain is now subsiding in Robin's chest, yet it is still there. Robin feels anger swelling up inside him, the natural reaction to pain is rage._

"_Let's continue then, evil never rests so neither should we." Batman says, he lunges forward his cape is flying behind him. His muscles are coiled taught like springs; his stance is perfect, the strike is one of amazing efficiency delivered by the Dark Knight._

_All Robin can feel now is rage; he sidesteps to the right bringing his left arm up to block the Batman's oncoming fist from catching his shoulder. In one extremely fluent motion Robin blocks Batman's blow and attempts striking Batman in the kidney with a knife hand strike. Batman blocks Robin's knife hand and retreats back two or three steps._

_Frustration is now clouding up Robin's thoughts, frustration at not being able to defeat the man he sees as his father, he charges forward. When he reaches the intimidating figure of Batman he starts throwing kicks, holding his arms up to block his face. Batman easily deflects the steel toed strikes as the come towards him, Batman's head is cool, and he is confident in his superior fighting ability. Robin throws another kick in hopes of breaking through Batman's guard. Batman catches his leg and takes him to the ground with the greatest of ease._

"_I tell you from personal experience." Batman says, holding out a black gloved hand to help Robin up. Robin ignores the hand and gets up by himself, Batman in turn ignores the gesture of defiance from the defeated sidekick. "Do not let rage become you. Anger, and hurt will always be there pushing you forward, but you can't let them take over your actions."_

_Robin takes a seat on a nearby chair in front of the BatComputer mainframe._

"_We don't kill, no matter how much someone may deserve it. Imagine for a second that in a rage you kill a criminal, you have lowered your self to there level." Batman pauses, Robin says nothing._

"_Anger will also make you sloppy, what if you got careless and got hurt or killed?" The Dark Knight continues._

"_Don't worry about that." Robin says, he allows himself to smile. He regrets taking his frustration out on Batman, and wants to rebuild burnt bridges without actually apologizing. "We are the best there is, nothing can happen to us."_

_A grimace forms across Bruce Wayne's face, but it is hidden by the effigy of the bat. He turns around and walks into the blackness. "I sure hope your right Dick. I sure as hell hope your right."_

The memory leaves Robin in an instant, like a quail evading the shots of a hunter. Robin looks up at Starfire, she has a worried expression on her face, one of genuine concern. He allows his quest for justice to be put on the proverbial backburner of his mind for a little while, and opens the doorway to his underused sense of empathy. He places a reassuring green gloved hand on Starfire's slumping shoulder.

"Hey I understand you concern Star, I'll try and relax a little bit." He says, attempting to make his voice sound reassuring. "Sometimes I just get so caught up in things."

Under the roof of Titans Tower, a Titan wakes up. A girl with deep violet eyes, and hair that matches them, a girl who is mysterious, whose past like the other Titan's is filled with pain and the determination to make things right. The girl is named Raven and her very existence is a mockery to how things should work, and this makes her an outsider by nature and not by choice. In Raven's veins runs the blood of a demon, a blood that damns her to end the world. She has amazing power, yet is amazingly disadvantaged as a person with a soul and personality, her emotions control nearby inanimate objects and if she can't control her emotions then she can cause a lot of damage, even enough to destroy Titan's Tower. So she has to discipline herself, has to fight passion with reason, balance the arcane with the logical. She has to spend her life to attain the closest thing to inhumanity that she can, has to make her self _tabula rasa_, blank slate; only to draw upon past experiences and feelings enough to be as effective as possible. She has to make herself nothing when she is not a tool of Justice.

Raven rises from her bed, into her room of cool dawn, she begins to meditate to find balance in that which most people find intangible. She begins her mantra "Azaroth, Metrione, Zinthos", transcending to higher states of being. The day is beginning all over Jump City, and what an important day it will end up being.


	3. the breaking of dawn

_Hello readers, thanks to everyone who bookmarked my story. Also thank your patience in waiting for updates I just recently moved and my apartment has no internet so I gotta wifi this stuff at McD's. And also my apologizes on over describing some of the assumed knowledge of the characters, I now realize that can be frustrating._

Raven gets what is the closest semblance of joy and well being that she can understand from meditation. While meditating Raven can see beyond seeing, be beyond being, while meditating Raven can feel the nuances of the universe. Chaos and balance dance with each other on the razors edge of her mind's eye and while she is meditating she can see the harmony in it.

But the harmony of her meditation is broken by three short knocks on the metal door of her chamber. She can tell through her sight beyond sight that it is Cyborg standing outside of her door.

"Come in." She says to him. She had been expecting a visit from him, for the last couple weeks she could see a desire in him to be closer to her. Perhaps in these hard times he was looking for a friend to lean on, perhaps there was something more to it. The two of them had always been close, well close as Raven knew how to get to someone.

The melancholy air of Raven's room is broken by the door sliding open, silhouetted in the doorway is the amazing half man half machine Cyborg. He walks into the room, Cyborg the a tower of strength, physical prowess mixed with the effiency and power of technology. A romance of both metal and circuitry with the complex systems of the human animal. Cyborg's presence as a creature of science and logic is a stark contrast to the rest of the room which is otherwise dominated by the metaphysical and abstract.

"I have been feeling rather tense lately." Cyborg says to Raven. His voice is pleasant to Raven, and he is well spoken. "It just hits me some times, I feel like something bad is about to happen. I know that the whole thing with the Crimson Jackal murders has been going on. And just feel this sense of…" He trails.

"Foreboding." Raven offers, her voice is rough around the edges from under use, yet it is still unexplainably attractive like black silk.

"Exactly, foreboding; I feel like some major hard times are ahead of us." Cyborg says, he offers a smile with this sentence, but the smile is shallow and holds no comfort.

"Have you ever tried to meditate?" Raven asks Cyborg.

Cyborg shifts uncomfortably on his metal legs, "Well not really, I figured you know, that since I am mostly a machine…" He trails off, his words absorbed by the comfortable darkness of Raven's room.

"Shut up." Raven says, she is still cross legged on her floor. She has not moved at all since Cyborg has entered her room. "I look at you and I see that you still have all of your soul no matter how little of your flesh is left. And your soul, your higher self is what is used to meditate."



Raven's delicate ivory colored hand pats the ground next to her, "Sit here." She says.

Cyborg approaches her with an amount of undo caution and sits down. He sits cross legged on the violet colored carpet. Cyborg looks at Raven and smiles sheepishly, and Raven tries to return the smile in the best way that she possibly can.

"The thing about meditation is that it is about balance. It is about allowing oneself the comfort of balance through the discipline that it takes to maintain it." Raven says, she pauses and tries to think of a good comparison to make to meditation. "Meditation is like a system check on your emotions." She frowns at how weak the simile is, and Cyborg smiles at her.

"It is important to focus on your breathing, if you focus on taking steady even breathes from your diaphragm you will find it is easier to obtain balance."

Cyborg stares of into the distance, Raven can see his breathing become visibly more even.

"Good job, now empty out your mind of all the white noise. Just focus on yourself, on your breathing, on your personal thoughts not the clutter and stress that the world fills your head up with."

Cyborg continues focusing on his breathing and closes his organic eye, his electronic eye still cuts through the darkness of the room, a clean red wound forever open.

"Now join me please; Azaroth, Metrione, Zinthos." Raven says. Cyborg joins her in the chanting of the mantra, the world takes shape around them. The pulse of the air slows down and it feels to Cyborg as if he is more acutely aware of every sensation, every nerve ending that remains in his mostly destroyed body than he ever was before. Things assert themselves to Cyborg in a perspective that he never before could have hoped to attain he sees past logic, he see past illogic he now sees things as harmony. Yes, indeed harmony; no other word can be used to describe the well oiled machine that is the universe. Chaos and law, melody and discord, peace and fury, all indiscriminate, all weaving together in a monolith of incomprehensible being; Cyborg feels this inside of himself, and outside of himself.

Now both as the insider looking out, and the outsider looking in Cyborg can touch on the root of his imbalance. He can see how is emotional distance has been a guard against the stressors that the Crimson Jackal murders have been putting on the Titans family. And how he had been attracted to Raven's wisdom, how he had sought stability from her in an unstable time.

"Wow, thanks Raven that really helped clear my mind. Now let me make you some breakfast." He says, he is relieved, he stills feels stressed but he now knows how to better handle the stress.

Raven looks up at Cyborg, he is so much taller than her. "Don't mention it." She says, her voice is devoid of much expression, but her statement is sincere.


	4. the breaking of fast

_At breakfast._

"You should have seen the last body Star!" Beast Boy exclaims through a mouthful of pancake and motioning with his fork. "What was the word you used Robin? Disem…"

"Disemboweled." Robin says, he says the word with a good deal of distaste. "There is nothing amusing about murder Beast Boy."

Beast Boy averts his green eyed gaze from Robin and stares at the remaining pancakes on his plate. He then takes a big fork full of syrup drenched breakfast and crams it in his mouth. He now feels slightly ashamed for the social faux pas he made even though inappropriate outburst are typical of him, it was wrong of him to find any type of amusement in suffering like that.

Beast Boy swallows the pancakes which no longer taste quite so good, "Hey sorry Robin, there has just been so much tension lately you know…"

"It's okay BB." Cyborg says, he understands and gets along with Beast Boy like none of the other Titans do and understands that Beast Boy is just trying to cope in the new environment. Cyborg leans forward on the table a bit towards Robin making sure to keep his posture straight and his shoulders squared. Cyborg can read all sorts of things from how a human is feeling by body temperature, basic analysis of posture, hormone readings, and knowing these things has given him insight into the importance of body language. He wants to convey to Robin exactly how much of an obligatory statement he is going to make.

"Robin," He begins, "the gang and I were thinking of doing pizza and a movie tonight, and we are expecting you to be joining us."

Robin avoids eye contact with Cyborg, "I'm going to be busy." He mumbles.

"I wasn't asking, I was informing." Cyborg states.

After Cyborg's home made pancakes had been consumed, and the dishes placed in soapy warm water to be neglected by Beast Boy until later Robin retreats to the evidence room. Raven makes herself busy by furthering her memorization of the Edger Allan Poe story "The Shadow: A Parable." She fantasizes about being the narrator of the story, about mourning and staring at her own reflection in the deep ebony table to avoid recognizing the shadow waiting patiently by the door.

"Oh man Raven." Cyborg says sitting down next to her. "Can you imagine what type of man it would take to cut someone open and pull their intestines out?" All of Cyborgs remaining skin rises up into goose flesh. "He would have to be more than a man, he would have to be some kind of monster. Some kind of predator, the only other person who I can think of who is that sick is you know… the Joker. Do you remember that time we had to pick him up after the Arkham break?"

"Yes, I remember." Raven says, she can indeed remember the madman the Joker. She can remember how his eyes had seemed cold and hollow, how his gaiety and ugly mirth was just a mask like his face 

paint. She can remember sensing how chaotic his spirit was as he flirted with her, she remembers that even though he had been hurt he didn't even seem to notice. The Joker had been like the Edgar Allan Poe story "Shadow: A Parable", he had been a petty façade of mirth and joking when barely under the surface was darkness, darkness and death.

Starfire enters the room, she had heard part of the conversation and she knew that they were speaking of the Crimson Jackal. "I know that he is very dangerous." She says, "And I also know that he is taking away our Robin from us."


	5. afternoon

The afternoon was spent fairly listlessly, each of the team members moving about the tower in ways that are practical or comfortable to them. Starfire felt that it was necessary to clean the tower and flew about merrily humming a tune to herself while she worked with a feather duster desperately trying not to worry about Robin. Cyborg and Beast Boy wasted their day away in front of the television and in front of the computer. Raven sat in her room and tried to write haiku poetry, but found it both difficult and frustrating as she was not very adept at expressing herself. And Robin spent all afternoon in the evidence room trying to fit together the pieces of the puzzle that was the Crimson Jackal murders.

Evening rolls into the Titans Tower in a sleepy meandering haze of orange sunbeams sneaking through the windows, and the ticking of clocks as their hands pass the six o'clock post meridian mark. Raven has given up trying to write poetry, Starfire has finished cleaning, and the entire team minus a Robin is lounging in the living room watching a show on the Discovery channel.

"Is it time to get Robin now, so that we may feast upon and pizza and hopefully brighten his spirits?" Starfire asks anxiously cupping her tan hands under her chin.

"Sure go get him." Cyborg says nonchalantly.

Starfire leaps up from the couch and flies to the evidence room at a speed so fast it is almost terrifying. She arrives at the evidence room and knocks upon the cool metal door three times, her joyful alien heart pounds faster in her chest in fear that perhaps Robin has changed his mind.

"Hello? Robin? Are you awake? It is time that you join us for pizza." She calls through the door after not getting any response.

"I'll be right out." Robin calls through the door.

"Okay." Starfire says doubtfully. She waits for a minute, the minute languidly crawls by and then turns into two minutes, the two minutes multiply and before Starfire knows it she has been waiting outside the evidence room in dire anticipation for four minutes. She can no longer take it and bursts through the door; Robin looks up from his computer screen a look of startled surprise is on his face. Starfire flies forward grabbing him under his sweat soaked arm pits like a child and lifts him into the air, flying back out to the main room with the same terrifying speed that she flew from it.

After Starfire arrives at the main room she drops Robin abruptly onto the couch, a look of stern disapproval on her elegant features. "You are going out with us tonight, and you are going to have a good time!" She admonishes him, she is too caught up in the moment to fear any repercussions such a statement may have on one as moody as Robin.

The others stare dumb founded at the display and then Beast Boy falls into hilarity, "That was rich!" he exclaims in between gasping laughs.

Starfire looks at Robin's face trying to read his expression behind his mask, she hopes that she did not in any way hurt their relationship.



"Well, I guess I can't say no to that." Robin says, "Let's go get some pizza."

Cyborg stands up, he is smiling, "All right gang, let's get going then."


End file.
